New Music Interview: Safe to Swim

August 27, 2018

Hidden Herd favourites Safe to Swim are one of the most promising acts to come out of the south coast in recent times. Ahead of their appearance at our very first Hidden Herd Festival next week, we caught up with the Brightonian rockers to see what they’ve been up to.

What have you guys been up to so far this year?

“We’ve been busy getting some new tracks ready and recorded hence we’ve been a bit quiet in the gig scene recently! Really looking forward to Hidden Herd Festival though, it’s been a while since we’ve last played in Brighton and we’re excited to play you some new songs.”

How did ‘Safe to Swim’ initially start out?

“We met at uni when I was told to find a group for an assessment. I was pretty unsure of the situation at first but it became a happy accident. One rehearsal lead to another and then gig after gig and so on. Turns out we had a shared obsession for bands like Pixies, The Strokes and The Cure, then started going to gigs together and just hanging out.”

What inspired your name?

“It goes way back to the crisp beginnings. We were all studying music in Brighton so we compared the craziness and unpredictable nature of the music industry to the sea… It’s safe to swim here, right?”

Who would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound right now?

“I wanna say some really cool older bands like the ones I mentioned earlier but I’ve been getting into more contemporary artists lately. The new songs we’ll be releasing definitely have a bit more of a youthful, playful, house party vibe going on. Similar sort of vibe to bands like Hinds, Gengahr and Bombay Bicycle Club’s early recordings.”

Are there any other artists you’ve played with that you’d recommend?

“We’re big fans of our friends in Youth Sector – they’ve got some highly energetic synth guitar tunes, definitely recommend giving them a stream or two. Also supported Anteros not too long ago and they were great. Big No Doubt and Blondie vibes going on which we LOVE.”

What does the future hold for you?

“We plan to slowly unravel our masterpiece of an EP over the coming months. Got some other stuff planned too but we’ve gotta stay hush hush for now.”

Safe to Swim play at Hidden Herd festival on September 1st at The Green Door Store in Brighton. Tickets available here via DICE.